Printing apparatus



Jan. 11, 1938. G. w. BOOTH PRINTING APPARATUS Original Filed-Aug. 28. 1955v 3 Sheets-Sheet l "Jan. 11, 1938.

a. w. BOOTH" PRINTING APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 28, 19:55

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 11, 1938. 5'; G,W.BQOTH 2,105,400

PRINTING APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 28, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 fied form of printing roll.

Patented Jan.- 1l,' 1938 UNITED STATES PRINTHNG APPARATUS George W. Booth,

Baltimore, Md., assignor to Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc., Baltimore, Md., a corporation of New York Original application Au 38,307. 1936, Serial No.

gust 28, 1935, Serial No. Divided mg this application May 9,

14 Claims. (Cl. 101-35) The present invention relates to apparatus particularly designed for printing or otherwise imposingdata or decorative matter on articles such as container closures. A general object of 5 the invention is to provide means whereby the articles may be impressed upon with precision, and a particular object is to provide means whereby articles having surfaces in difierent planes may have matter accurately imposed on the diflerent surfaces.

The apparatus in the embodiments hereafter to be described is. particularly designed to handleclosure discs having central and marginal portions in difierent planes, closures of this type being disclosed in my PatentNo. 1,956,217,issued April 24, 1934. 1

I, In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate practical embodiments of the invention by way of example:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through a pair of printing rolls, associated inking rollers, and, a platen.

, Figure 2 is a section substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken at the bottom of the right hand roll of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a sectional view taken at the bottom of the left hand roll of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a partial elevation partly in section of a modified form of printing roll.

Figure 7 is a section substantially on the line '|-'l of Figure 6. I Figure 8 is a plan view of a printing band appearing in elevation in Figure 6.

Figure 9 is an axial section of afurther modi- Figure 10 is an elevation partly in section of the devices of Figure 9 as seen from the left of that Figure 11 is a plan view of a portion of the printing. roll of Figure 9, partly in section, on line of that figure, and

Figure 12 is a partial axial section of anothermodified form of printing roll.

The apparatus as a whole, as disclosed in my copendlng application Serial No. 38,307, filed August 28, 1935, of which this is a division, com- 59 prises means for feeding the-discs to be printed from stacks and under the printing rolls. For the sake of conciseness, the stack feeding'mechanism has not been shown in the' present application, since merely the printing appliances are 55 here involved.

to roll 2| will be understood to apply also to roll in bushings as at 21, Figure 2, secured in suitable openings in the wall 24. Each shaft has fixed thereto a gear as at 28, both of these gearsbeing of equal size and both engaging a drive gear so as to be driven at the same speed and in the same direction.

A platen comprising portions 29 and 30 is supported beneath the respective rolls on eccentrics 3|, 32, 33 and 34, which have end portions journaled in the main frame. By means of mechanism described in my original application, the pairs of eccentrics 3|, 32 and 33, 34 are rock- 20 able so as to adjust the platen portions 29 and 30 independently and translationally in a vertical direction. The platen portions are provided with channels as at 35, Figures 3 to 5, which receive an endless feed chain 36 which has upstanding 25 fingers 31 adapted to abut and propel along the guideway 38, closure discs, as at 39. As may be seen from Figures 1 and 3 to 5, each closure disc comprises flat central and marginal portions of which the central portion is in a plane above the 30 marginal portion. The discs are of circular form so that their marginal portions are annular and their central relatively offset portions circular.

As herein contemplated, roll 20 is designed to print on the depressed annular portions of the 35 discs and roll 2| on theraised central portions. Except for the printing pads used, the two rolls are identical and the following discussion directed Roll 2| comprises a central core member 40, an intermediate ring portion 4|, and an outer ring portion 42. The core 40 is keyed on shaft 26 and held against outward axial movement by a washer 43 secured to the end of the shaft. At 45 its outer end the core has a flange 44 expanded at diametrically opposite points to provide lugs 45 and 46 which lie against the outer face of ring portion 4|. Lug 46 has a transverse slot 41 through which is passed the shank of the screw 48 threaded in a tapped hole in ring 4|. Lug 45 projects between a pair of split lugs 49 and 50 projecting outwardly from ring 4|, these lugs carrying abutment screws 5| and 52 whose adjacent ends bear against lug 45. Ring 4i may be 56 turned relative to core 40 upon loosening screw 48 and adjusting screws 5| and 52. In this manner the required angular adjustment of the ring and core may be effected, screws 5| and 52 locked in abutment with lug 45 by means of the locking screws 53 and 54, and screw 41 tightened to hold ring 4| against lug 45.

At'its rear edge ring 4| has an annular shoulder 55 abutted by ring 42,.the two rings being keyed together as indicated in Figure 3'. In radial grooves 55 and 51 formed in the bottoms of charm-.- nels 58 and 59 on the front face of ring 4| are disposed a pair of lugs 50 and 5|, these lugs being secured to ring 4| by means of screws 52 and 53. The outer ends of lugs 50 and 5| overlap the inner margin of ring 42 to secure the latter against shoulder 55.

The side faces of ring 42 are provided with annular grooves 54 and 55. Disposed about the periphery of ring 42 in equally spaced relation are a series of printing pads 56 which may be conveniently formed of rubber although any other suitable material may be used. Each pad 65 has a printing area for engagement with the central portions of the discs and each is secured as by an adhesive to an arcuate base plate 51 whose curvature is that of ring 42. The lateral edges of each base plate 61 are engaged'by the beveled ends of substantially U-shaped clamps or clips 58 and 53. The legs of each clamp are respectively engaged in one of the grooves 54 and 55 and against an edge of a plate 51, the bridge portions of the somewhat spaced from the sides of the ring as indicated in Figure 3. The clamps are secured to ring 42 by means of screws 10 and H. It will be evident that upon loosening the screws the plate may he slid circumferentially of ring 42 and may also be adjusted transversely thereof or in the axial direction of the roll by proper adjustment of the screws. In Figure 3, for example, the base plate 51 is shown as being adjusted slightly to the right relative to ring 42 for the purpose of securing proper register. If necessary, shims may be interposed between the base plates and ring 42 to insure uniform printing of the pads.

Referring particularly to Figure 5, the base plate 12, secured to roll 20, is shown as having afiixed thereto a printing pad 13 having an annular printing face 14 of a size to engage and print the annular marginal portions of the closures. The central portion of pad 13 is spaced above the upwardly offset portion ofthe closure so as to prevent smearing of the printing pre-,

viously effected by a pad 55.

The printing pads are spaced apart on their respective rolls at intervals corresponding exactly to the spacing of the closures as fed under the rollers and over the platen by fingers 31, and the relative-adjustment of the chain and rolls is such as to bring successive discs into exact printing registry with successive pads. The rolls are driven so that the printing surfaces of the pads move at exactly the same speed as the chain. Clearance is provided between the pads for the upper extremities of the feeding fingers 31.

As disclosed in my original application, the drive trains for the rolls and chain are interconnected so' that proper coordination is secured. It will be understood that as chain 35 moves to the left, Figure 1, a disc 39 is brought into en-.

clamps being ordinarily it comes under roll 20 and the annular portion 14 of a pad 13 rolls on the low marginal portion of the disc to apply the desired printing. The path of the printing surface of pads 55 is elevated with respect to the platen as compared to the path of the printing surface of the pads 13. The inking rollers 22 and 23 are, of course, positioned so as to engage the printing surfaces of the associated printing members.

The closures may be simply metal plates or may be laminated construction. Where the printing surfaces are metal, a drying oven is ordinarily required 'but with the printing surfaces of paper, for example, which will absorb the ink, the oven can be dispensed with.

In the described machine, two rolls are provided for printing on different surfaces of a closure or the like. If it were desired to print on only one surface, or if the disclosure were uniplanar, one roll could, of course, be dispensed with. The principal purpose of providing the two rolls is to avoid the difficulty of inking a printing pad having printing surfaces at difierent levels. However, with the single roll a printing roller may be provided for inking the outer level of a plural level pad and a further roller for inking the lower level. The latter roller would be provided with localized inking pads moved in timed relation with the printing rol'lerso that successive inking pads wouldcooperate with successive printing pads. In the present case, if pads 55 and 13 were combined into a single pad, a plain cylindrical inking roller could be provided for the outer annular printing portion 14 and a cylindrical roller with raised inking pads for cooperation with the relatively lower surfaces 66.

The printing rolls may be designed to carry a flexible band on which the pads are properly spaced and fixed.

being shown in plan in Figure 8. At its ends the band has affixed thereto wedge-shaped blocks l8 and 19, these being received in a groove 85 extending transversely of the roller periphery. A

-. transverse rib 8| in groove and integral with the roll, lies between blocks 18 and 19. A U- shaped locking member "82 having legs 83 and 84 with wedge faces for engagement with blocks 18 and 19, is pulled into engagement with the latter by means of a screw 85, threaded in the end of rib 8|, for the purpose of tensioning the band. Legs 83 and- 84 are undercut, as shown, in Figure 6, so that the ends of the band are held down. The ends of blocks 18 and I9 opposite screw 85 abut an annular shoulder on the roll to prevent their transverse displacement under the action of member II and the roll, as shown; may have a shallow peripheral channel providing shoulders which accurately position the band. The advantage of this arrangement is that the pads may be accurately placed on the band and the whole group quickly applied to the roll in a single operation. In the embodiment first described, if different printing members are to be applied, this is ordinarily done by removing the pads from ring with different pads applied. However, this would be a rather lengthy operation as compared to the removal and reapplication of bands 15.

In Figures 9 to 11, I have shown means for moving an inner printing pad relative to, an outer 75 pad so that the two may be at different levels for printing but at the same level for inking; this disposition, of course, requiring the provision of only a single roll. In the figures mentioned, the ring 86 is provided in its side toward wall 28 with an. annular groove 81. Peripherally the roll is provided with a series of circular radial recesses 88 having central cylindrical radial bosses 89 7 therein. Cup-shaped plungers 90 are positioned in recesses 88 and as shown in Figure 11, have Y flanges. 9|v provided with radial projections as at 92 and 9-3 mating with similarly shaped axially extending grooves in the walls of the recesses to prevent turning of the members 90. On their outer circular faces members 90 carry printing pads 94 which are radially movable in openings of printing pads 95 and the base plates 96 to which the pads 95 are affixed. The base plates are secured to the roll by means of screws 91. Interposed between plates 96 and the flanges 9-! are compression springs 98 which tend to move members 90 inwardly. Each member 90. has secured thereto a cylindrical stem 99 slidable in a radial bore in a boss 89. In order that the members 90 may reciprocate freely with dash-pot efiect, vent openings I90 and I 0| are'provided for the recesses. Secured to wall 24 and projecting within recess 8'! are upper and lower substantially semicircular cam members I02 and I03, the cam members having flanges provided with vertically elongated slots I06 and I05 through which pass screws I06 and I01. The cams thus have a range of vertical adjustment. Cam I02 is formed on a somewhat greater radius than cam I03 and has rounded end flanges overlying the ends of the latter in the manner shown in Figure 10, to provide a smooth peripheral track. The inner ends of stems $9 bear against cams I 02 and I 03 by reason of the action of springs 98. When any stem is on cam H02 its associated pad 98 is projected outwardly to the level of the printing portion of pad 95 so that, the two parts being flush, they may be simultaneously inked by means of a plain cylindrical roller: When a stem 99 is on cam 903, its associated pad 99 is retracted by the spring 93 to the position shown in Figure 9 so as to print properly on the raised surface of the disc while the other pad is printing the disc margin. The curve of cam I03 should, of course, be such that one pad will remain in the same relation to the outer pad throughout the printing operation. Thus the cam surface should be concentric with the roll axis. However, slight adjustment of cam- 003 from a strictly concentric position may be made without unduly afiecting the operation of outwardly by means of a compression spring IE3, movement of the plunger being limited by means of screws Ilfland H5 passed through the walls of bore I09 and engaged in axially extending ended recesses H6 and I IT in the plunger. A vent duct is shown at I I0.

Spring I I3 normally holds the printing surface of pad II I flush with the printing surface of pad IE2 for inking, the pad I II being unable to move outwardly past the flush relation due to the limit- I ing efiect of screws H4 and H5. During the printing operation, however, the raised portion of the closure pushes the pad I II inwardly to the position shown so that both levels of the cap are simultaneously printed.

It will be understood that the specific disclosures herein may be departed'from without departure from the scope of the invention. Variations are possible in the form and arrangement of parts, and accordingly I do not limit myself except as in the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for printing closure discs of the type having high and low substantially flat portions, said apparatus comprising rotary means, a pair of printing members carried'by said rotary means, and a rectilinearly extending platen for supporting the discs to be printed, one of said printing members having, a path elevated with respect to the platen as compared to the path of the other so that the first is adapted to print on the high portions of the discs and the other is adapted to print on the low portions of the discs.

2. Apparatus for printing closure discs of the type having highand low substantially flat portions, said apparatus comprising rotary means, a pair of printing members carried by said rotary means, and a rectilinearly extending platen for supporting the discs to be printed, one of said printing members having a path elevated with respect to the platen as compared to the path of the other so that the first is adapted to print on-the high portions of the discs and the other is adapted to print on the low portions, of the discs, the printing action of said members being successive.

3. Apparatus for printing closure discs of the type having high and low substantially fiat portions, said apparatus comprising rotary means, a pair of printing members carried by said rotary means, and a rectilinearly extending platen for supporting the discs to be printed, one of said printing members having a path elevated with respect to the platen as compared to the path of the other so that the first is adapted to print on the high portions of the discs and the other is Said rotary means comprising a pair of rolls, one of the rolls carrying one of the printing members and the other roll carrying the other printing member, the printing members acting successively.

4. Apparatus for printing closure discs of the type having high and low portions, said apparatus comprising rotary means, a pair of printing members carried by said rotary means, and a platen for supporting the discs to be printed, one of said printing members having a path elevated with respect to the platen as compared to the path of the other so that the first is adapted to print on the high portions of the discs and the other is adapted to print on the low portions of the discs, the printing action of said members being substantially simultaneous.

5. Apparatus for printing closure discs of the type having high and low portions, said apparatus comprising rotary means, a pair of printing members carried by said rotary means, and a platen for supporting the discs to be printed, one of said one of said printing members being surrounded by the other.

6. Apparatus for printing closure discs of the type having high and low'portions, said apparaprinting members having a path elevated with his comprising rotary means,- a pair of printing members carried by said rotary means, and a platen for supporting the discs to be printed, one of said printing members having a path elevated with respect to the platen as compared to.the path of the other so that the first is adapted to print on the high portions of the discs and the other is adapted to print on the low portions of the discs, one of said members being radially movable relative to the other.

7. Apparatus for printing closure discs of the type having high and low portions, said apparatus comprising rotary means, a pair of printing members carried by said rotary means, a platen for supporting the discs to be printed, one of said printing members having a path elevated with respect to the platen as compared to the path of the other so that the first is adapted to print on the high portions of the discs and the other is adapted to print on the low portions of the discs, one of said members being radially movable relative to the other, and means for projecting the movable member from a relatively retractedprinting position to an inking position wherein it is substantially flush with the other member.

8. Apparatus for printing closure discs of the type having high and low portions, said apparatus comprising rotary means, a pair of printing members carried by said rotary means, a platen for supporting the discs to be printed, one of-said printing members having a path elevated with respect to the platen as compared to the path of the other so that the first is adapted to print on the high portions 'of the discs and the other is adapted to print on the low portions of the discs, one of said members being radially movable relative to the other, means for projecting the movable member from a relatively retracted printing position to an inking position wherein it is substantially flush with the other member, and means for retracting said movable member;

9 Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the projecting means is constituted by a spring and wherein the movable printing member is retracted as a. result of engagement with the high ,portions of the discs.

12. Apparatus for printing closure discs of the type having high and low portions, said apparatus comprising rotary means, a pair of printing members carried by said rotary means, a platen for supporting the discs to be printed, one of said printing members having a path elevated with respect to the platen as compared to the path of the other so that the first is adapted to print on the high portions of the discs and the other is adapted to print on the low portions of the discs, one of said members being radially movable relative to the other, and means for moving the movable member from an inking position wherein it is substantially flush with the periphery and spaced about the latter, and U- shaped clamps secured by screws to the sides of the roll, one leg of each clamp engaging the side of the roll and the other leg engaging a side edge of a base plate, the arrangementbeing such that by adjusting the screws of opposite clamps the associated plate and pad may be adjusted axially of the roll.

GEORGE W. BOOTH. 

